Profile For Heavy P.

Thank god some rationality his hit me and the obsession with truck ownership has gone away. The company trucks are 2015's from what I hear. So maybe it takes me 40 minutes to clean it up an personalize it before a trip Now it becomes "my" truck for the following few weeks, without the stress of fuel and maintenance. Just easy going driving. Now I will have to figure a place to store the existing mattress, as I'll havy own. Truckers are notorious for bad heygene, who knows what filth is in the mattress.

By doing this as opposed to leasing, I don't have to surrender my remaining years of life to solitude on the road. I do have other dreams to pursue. I'd rather put that truck lease money into buying a condo in Los Angeles.

Hey guys, sorry for the late response. I'm out on the road with a trainer, about one more week left of training.

I enjoy driving a semi and I'm good at it. My trainer's truck is dirty and needs work. When I do go solo I should be driving a newer truck, but it will be slip seating.

Swift leases kenworth t660's that are just stunningly handsome. It's something I'm considering, maybe in a year or so. The truck would last forever with the care and love I'd give it.

However I don't want to give up all my home time to pay for the truck. I like to work 2 to 3 weeks hard, then take a week off to relax and clean the truck up.

That answers my question, thanks. I'd have to figure out my "break even point", basically how many miles I need to roll to cover my fixed overhead. That's why I need a cheap old truck, I'd sure love to learn how to work on my own truck. With my truck expenses low, I wouldn't have to work much to cover that.

Matt

Without getting into the particulars (and ongoing debate) about going O/O or leasing - if you DO - you can take whatever time you want off.

But keep in mind - you only make $$ when the wheels are turning. Truck payments, insurance, tags, maintenance and so on - cost BIG $$ for a BIG TRUCK.

So unless you go "all in" for cash, are independently wealthy and are doing this for a hobby - owning/leasing you will work as hard (or harder) as a company driver - in order to stay afloat and be profitable.

Rick

I'm a new driver, I just got my CDL a few months ago. I drove for a small company for 2 months but it didn't work out. It was LTL and a refrigerated trailer. I'm switching to a company that delivers full TL's in a dry van. Yeah I'll have to be gone longer, but at least I can get on the interstate for longer periods, rather than spending all my hours waiting at walmrt, kroger, etc distribution centers.

Overall I like driving a semi though. I'm 40 so I got kind of a late start. I know alot of drivers strive to get a local delivery route, but I think I'd prefer OTR. All those local jobs you're going to have to get up in middle of the night to start your shift at some crazy hour like 4AM. I like to wake up in my sleeper when I want, and my commute to work is about 2 feet!

The company I got hired at has O/O positions that I might consider down the road in the future. The two primary reason's O/O sounds good to me are the flexibility of working when I want, and getting to keep my truck. Alot of companies are slip-seat, and the ones that aren't you only get a few days off a month. They want their trucks on the road all the time.

So my question is if you own your own truck and are paying all your own fixed overhead, can you take time off when you want, and for the duration that you want? I wound't think the company would lose money if I wanted to park my truck for a week.

I'm thinking I'll work hard for a year, get a couple credit cards payed and have some money put aside for a down payment on a truck. And I'm wondering if I can get by with an older truck. My company says it needs to be 5 years or less. If I got a 2009 say, surely they wouldn't make me get rid of it after one year. If I got an older truck for say $30K 'ish, I wouldn't have the huge payments and I could take that time off. I've owned older cars all my life. My Grand Marquis is 19 years old and still smells like a new car. I take care of my vehicles.

So to recap, I like truck driving, and I think I'll like OTR. But I also like my time off, and I've got to figure a way to do this, if it means buying a truck that's fine. I don't meant to come across as lazy. I might want to stay on the road a month banking$$, but I might want to take a couple weeks off to rest and recover. Please tell me how I can do this! If I could figure a way to do this, my life would be perfect.

Thanks for reading and in advance for suggestions.

Matt

Thank you all for your suggestions, I'll check them out. And I'll see if I can get a non-smoking truck. By the way, the ozone generators I mentioned, they don't neutralize the smell forever either. The thing is, tobacco leaves a residue of tar, including the internals of the AC system. If worse comes to worst I'll just keep those cleaners mentioned handy. And I'll think positive, just maybe I'll get a non-smoker's truck. The company uses Peterbilt 380 series trucks.

Hi you all, first time posting here.

I'm a 40 year old finally getting a career, trucking. I should have done this 10 years ago. I did my training, got my CDL, and scored a job with a smaller company that I think will be a great fit. I'll be driving a reefer trailer and picking up food in Los Angeles, then delivering LTL loads all over the west. Not bad huh? I'll get to travel my favorite states, like CA, AZ, and Nevada.

Getting on to the topic, my observations are that there are a lot of tobacco users in the trucking occupation. It seemed everyone in my CDL school either did "dip" or smoked, including the instructors. My company trainer smokes, no big deal as that will only last for a few weeks.

But you know when they assign me my own truck that thing is going to stink of cigarettes. And that triggers asthma with me. When you're a new driver you get the beater I understand, it was the same way when I drove a taxi.

So, is it possible to completely remove cigarette odor, and get the truck smelling awesome again? I'll do whatever it takes. If it costs money to have it professional done, no problem. The truck will be permanently assigned to me. Or I could try doing it myself, I did buy a steam cleaner a couple of days ago for household use. I also read about ozone shock treatments to remove stubborn odors.

I'll be living out of this truck for up to a week at a time, so I want my "home" home to be comfortable and smell good. Thank you.